Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Boko Haram
fighters launched an attack on northeast Nigeria's largest city
Maiduguri on Wednesday but were repelled by Nigerian troops after
intense clashes, residents and the army said.
Dozens of
militants armed with heavy guns and rocket-propelled grenades stormed
the northern outskirts of the city near Giwa military base, shooting and
firing explosives indiscriminately, local witnesses told AFP.
The
army said in a statement its soldiers had fought off "a band of
terrorists" and that two bombs carried by female suicide bombers were
detonated ahead of the attack.
There was no immediate information on any casualties.
The
assault was the first on Maiduguri after a three-month lull following
sweeping offensives on Boko Haram strongholds by a regional coalition of
troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
"They came in
through the Kayamla area around 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) when residents were
preparing for evening prayers, firing in all directions and hurling
bombs," said local resident Ibrahim Sidi.
"Soldiers from Giwa
barracks deployed and intercepted them just on the outskirts of the city
and engaged them in a fight that lasted for over 40 minutes," he said.
Hajara
Musa was among hundreds of residents of Fori neighbourhood who sought
refuge in a nearby university campus to escape the clashes.
"Bullets were flying all over the place, we had to crouch and move on all fours as bullets whizzed overhead," Musa said.
Bilkisu
Ahmad, a students at the Maiduguri University said they were ordered by
the campus security guards to lay flat to avoid being hit by bullets
and grenades.
"It was terrifying," Ahmad said.
After the Islamists were forced to withdraw, some residents were able to return to their homes.
"Some
of us have moved back to our homes after soldiers neutralised the
attack but many others have fled into the city," Musa added.
A
member of the civilian vigilantes assisting the Nigerian military in
the fight against Boko Haram said the attack could have been a reprisal
for the losses incurred by the extremists in a Tuesday offensive on
their camp some 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside the city.
"The
attack was from all indication in response to the huge casualties Boko
Haram suffered yesterday in the military operation on their camp in Mafa
area in which some women and children were rescued," said the
vigilante who asked not to be named.
Source:
Yahoo News
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